Southern California -- this just in

LAPD union backs City Controller Greuel in mayoral election

January 16, 2013 | 5:43
pm

The Los Angeles Police Protective League threw its backing behind City Controller Wendy Greuel in the March 5 election, giving her a critical City Hall ally in her campaign to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The police officers' union, which represents roughly 10,000 rank-and-file officers, praised Greuel as a candidate with "a strong understanding of public safety."

"Wendy recognizes the importance of putting public safety first while at the same time working on issues that people really care about, like creating jobs, fixing potholes and fighting waste, fraud and abuse in city government,” league President Tyler Izen said in a statement.

The police union has played a pivotal role in city elections. In 2009, the league spent $745,000 on the effort to help Carmen Trutanich become city attorney. Two years later, the group spent more than $108,000 on an unsuccessful effort to unseat City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, a former police chief.

Greuel is already expected to secure major support from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, the union that represents employees at the Department of Water and Power. Earlier this week, a longtime consultant for Villaraigosa confirmed that the union is teaming up with entertainment executives to promote Greuel and other candidates on TV and elsewhere.

That campaign will have the ability to raise unlimited sums on Greuel’s behalf, as long as it does not coordinate with her campaign.